M Street High School, also known as Perry School, is a historic former school building located in the Northwest Quadrant of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It has been listed on the

District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites The District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites is a register of historic places in Washington, D.C. that are designated by the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), a component of the District of Columbia Govern ...

since 1978 and it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1986. The building escaped demolition with community support and the efforts of preservationists and is now a community center.

History

The school was founded in 1870 as the Preparatory High School for Negro Youth, also called Washington High School. Between 1870 and 1891 the school was located in several makeshift locations. In 1890, Congress appropriated $112,000 to build a permanent school and the building on M Street was then designed by Thomas Entwistle from the Office of Building Inspector and built from 1890–1891. It was one of the nation's first high schools for African Americans and represents an important development of Washington's education system. The African American community had to fight for quality education in the city. The dual school system created disparities in facilities, grounds, architectural design and size. However, the school provided a rigorous curriculum and an extraordinary faculty because of the limited professional opportunities for African Americans. Principals at the school included Francis L. Cardozo, Sr., Robert H. Terrell and Anna J. Cooper. Among the many teachers was

Carter G. Woodson Carter Godwin Woodson (December 19, 1875April 3, 1950) was an American historian, author, journalist, and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). He was one of the first scholars to study the h ...

who taught French, Spanish, English, and history, and

Christian Fleetwood Christian Abraham Fleetwood (July 21, 1840 – September 28, 1914), was an African American non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, a commissioned officer in the District of Columbia Army National Guard, D.C. National Guard, an editor ...

, a recipient of the Medal of Honor. The school produced a high percentage of college graduates, sending graduates to Harvard, Yale, and Brown, among other places, and its alumni included many prominent educators and public figures. The high school was moved to a new building on a different site in 1916, when it was renamed Dunbar High School after the famous African-American poet

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American C ...

. In 1919, the 128 M Street school building became the home of the M Street Junior High School, which was renamed

Shaw Junior High School Shaw Junior High School, now known as Asbury Dwellings, is an historic structure located in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It has been listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites and on the National Register of Hist ...

in 1921. Then in 1928, Shaw moved to the Mckinley Manual Technical School building at 7th and Rhode Island Avenue, NW. From 1929 to 1932, the M Street High School building was used to house students from Cardozo High School. In 1932 it became M Street Junior High School, later named Terrell Junior High School. In 1952 it was renamed again as the Leon L. Perry Middle School, named for a principal, supervising principal and school board member of the black school system from 1914-1945. In 1954 the school was integrated. Shortly thereafter it was closed. The building continued to find new life. In the 1960s it was used as a homeless shelter and food distribution center. In 1978 it was nominated for landmark status. At the time it was slated to be torn down to create a playground for students from nearby Terrell Junior High School, but following the landmark nomination the school board instead decided to preserve it. In the 1980s the city tried to sell it to developers, but the local community sought to preserve it as a community asset. In 1986 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and in 1989, the D.C. school board approved the use of the vacant Perry School for a community service center. In 1998 the building became home of the Perry School Community Services, Inc, a non-profit health and community service center.

Notable students

* Julia Evangeline Brooks (1882–1948), educator, an incorporator of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority *

Nannie Helen Burroughs Nannie Helen Burroughs (May 2, 1879May 20, 1961) was a black educator, orator, religious leader, civil rights activist, feminist, and businesswoman in the United States. Her speech "How the Sisters Are Hindered from Helping," at the 1900 Nationa ...

(May 2, 1879 – May 20, 1961), educator and school founder *

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (January 2, 1898 – November 1, 1989), was a pioneering Black professional and civil rights activist of the early-to-mid-20th century. In 1921, Mossell Alexander was the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. i ...

(1898-1989) First African-American to earn a PhD in Economics and the first admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar. * Mary P. Burrill (1881–1946), playwright, educator *

Ford Dabney Ford Thompson Dabney (15 March 1883 – 6 June 1958) was an American ragtime pianist, composer, songwriter, and acclaimed director of bands and orchestras for Broadway musical theater, revues, vaudeville, and early recordings. Additionally, for ...

(1883–1958), ragtime pianist, composer, jazz band leader * Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. (1877–1970), first African-American general officer *

Eva Beatrice Dykes Eva Beatrice Dykes (13 August 1893 – 29 October 1986) was the first black American woman to fulfill the requirements for a doctoral degree, and the third to be awarded a PhD. Early life and education Dykes was born in Washington, D.C. on Au ...

(1893–1986), educator, first African-American woman to earn a doctorate *

Margaret Flagg Holmes Margaret Flagg-Holmes (September 6, 1886 – January 29, 1976) was one of the sixteen founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, at Howard University in Washington, DC. It was the first sorority founded by African-American women. She w ...

(1886-1976), educator, co-founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority *

Charles Hamilton Houston Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950) was a prominent African-American lawyer, Dean of Howard University Law School, and NAACP first special counsel, or Litigation Director. A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard La ...

(1895–1950), Civil Rights Attorney *

Sarah Meriwether Nutter Sarah H. Meriwether (or "Meriwether") Nutter (January 1, 1888 – May 10, 1950) was one of the original sixteen founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by African-American women. As an educator, she wor ...

(1888–1950), educator, co-founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority *

Horatio Nelson Poole Horatio Nelson Poole (1884–1949) was an American painter, printmaker, muralist and teacher. Poole is known for both his intaglio prints (such as ''Fruit and Grain'') and paintings (such as ''A View of Honolulu near Old Plantation''). The Fine ...

(1884–1949), painter, printmaker, muralist, teacher * Hallie E. Queen (1880s-1940), writer, teacher, Red Cross worker *

Willis Richardson Willis Richardson (November 5, 1889 – November 7, 1977) was an American playwright. Biography Willis Richardson was born on November 5, 1889 in Wilmington, North Carolina, a son of Willis Wilder and Agnes Ann (Harper) Richardson. His fami ...

(1889–1977), playwright *

Hilyard Robinson Hilyard Robinson (1899 – July 2, 1986) was a prominent African-American architect and engineer. Biography Hilyard Robinson was born in Washington, D.C., where his mother was a seamstress and his grandfather had a shoe-shining business. Robins ...

(1899–1986), modernist architect *

Jean Toomer Jean Toomer (born Nathan Pinchback Toomer; December 26, 1894 – March 30, 1967) was an American poet and novelist commonly associated with the Harlem Renaissance, though he actively resisted the association, and with modernism. His reputatio ...

(1894 – 1967) was an African American poet and novelist commonly associated with the Harlem Renaissance * Garnet C. Wilkinson (1879–1969), educator *

James R. Europe James Reese Europe (February 22, 1881 – May 9, 1919) was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African Americans music scene of New York City in the 1910s. Eubie Blake calle ...

(1880-1919) African-American ragtime, jazz band leader, arranger, and composer *

Robert C. Weaver Robert Clifton Weaver (December 29, 1907 – July 17, 1997) was an American economist, academic, and political administrator who served as the first United States secretary of housing and urban development (HUD) from 1966 to 1968, when the depart ...

(1907-1997) first African American Cabinet Secretary, first

United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furnitur ...

Notable faculty

* G. David Houston (1880-1940) Professor of English at Howard University *

Anna Julia Cooper Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (August 10, 1858February 27, 1964) was an American author, educator, sociologist, speaker, Black liberation activist, and one of the most prominent African-American scholars in United States history. Born into slaver ...

(1958-1964) Author of A Voice From the South, a treatise on Black women’s political theory

References

{{National Register of Historic Places School buildings completed in 1891 Romanesque Revival architecture in Washington, D.C. African-American history of Washington, D.C. School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.